The process
Four stages, in order. Settlement at any of them.
Recovery is a sequence, not a scramble. Each stage is formal, each is documented, and each continues only while the balance remains unpaid. You are informed at every step, and nothing is done in your name without your written instruction.
the Aldgate name
Formal demand
A letter before action is issued to the debtor. It states the balance, the deadline for settlement and the consequences of non-payment, precisely and once.
There are no reminder cycles and no escalating tones. The letter sets out the position in full: the amount owed, to whom, the date by which it must be settled, and what may follow if it is not. Interest and compensation are claimed where the law allows.
You receive a copy of everything sent, the day it is sent.
the recovery partner
Referral
Where the demand is not answered, the matter is referred to our recovery partner and passes out of ordinary correspondence.
From this point the debtor is dealing with a formal recovery process, not with reminders. The file, the history and the supporting documents move with the matter, so nothing is asked of you twice.
You are told when the referral is made and what happens next.
the recovery partner
Letter of claim
The recovery partner issues a letter of claim under the pre-action protocol. It is the final step before proceedings.
The letter of claim is a formal document with legal weight. It sets out the claim, the sum, and the time in which the debtor must respond, in the form the court expects. Most matters that reach this stage are decided by it.
You see the letter of claim before it is sent.
the recovery partner
Proceedings
Where instructed and the claim is sound, the recovery partner can issue legal proceedings, seeking interest and costs where the law allows.
Proceedings are issued only on your instruction and only where the claim justifies them. The recovery partner conducts the litigation from issue to enforcement. Aldgate is not a firm of solicitors and does not conduct litigation.
The decision to proceed is yours, made on written advice.
At every stage
Escalation is not the aim; payment is. When the balance is settled, the matter closes.
Before anything is done
In writing, on your instruction.
Terms before any step
Our terms and the proposed course are set out in writing before anything is done in your name. [Terms placeholder].
Your instruction, in writing
Referral and proceedings happen on your written instruction, made on the recovery partner's advice, never by default.
One point of contact
Your matter has one reference and one point of contact from first demand to close. [Enquiry line placeholder].
Begin at stage one.
Enquiries are without obligation.
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